As Waters Relinquish all Misgivings
by Trelweny Rosephoenixwolf
Summary: FF4 Edge/Rydia pairing originally written for my Wajas; what happens when the two find themselves in another world -in entirely new, FURRY bodies. One-Shot.


Rydia Edge Wajas

_**Author's Note:**__ this was written originally for my custom Wajas for their profiles –a little fun piece to show what it was like for them waking up in new furry bodies but with all the memories of their previous lives. As Wajas changed the character count for profiles on the site I can't edit in the continuation or even fix the character mistakes that showed with the new coding implemented there. As it was written to go beneath their images I did not go into much visual description. For those of you who don't know, the creatures at triple W dot wajas dot com are of wolfish design and resemblance. The particular sub-breed that my Edge & Rydia Geraldine customs belong is called 'Water' and basically have the front half of a wolf blended back into a long body then into a tail with a wide, palm-frond-like fan at the end and are all furry. I actually lifted the colors for them out of the art for the re-release, of which I __**adore**__ Edge's picture. _

_For those that play wajas, you can see my customs there: Rydia 1216864 & Edge 1216865 –send me a message saying you came from reading this here and I'll gift you a free one of their unnamed pups either of those there or from a new breeding. ^_^ An extra way of saying 'thanks for reading!' ^_^_

* * *

As Waters Relinquish all Misgivings

It had never been something easy for her to come to terms with. Oh, it was easy enough for her to REACT, but her reactions in this matter were always so unlike her. So unlike how she usually was. _'"Gee, I don't know about him..."'_ She could still remember saying that; it seemed like so long ago now. So unlike how she was usually so accepting, so forgiving of people and their past.

_'But that was their past actions__ -__ at the time, it was what he was doing and saying.'_ No… That was not entirely the case and on some level the female knew it. No. Something else was bothering her even then when he was near. Something she had never been able to understand. And it had hurt somehow too, not being able somehow to show her feelings for the injured man not understanding them herself. Not making it clear that in naming the others that had gone or she had thought had gone… she had not wanted to think of adding the injured prince's name to the list. The thought of it, in the back of her mind, tore her up inside.

Being called one of two 'babes' in the party had not helped either…

He was a flirt. She knew he was a flirt. It was obvious and it was often bad. Yes, he had been the first man to really flirt with her. It had put her off, in a way. Yet… Yet it seemed more complex than that. Always more complex then that. Like his flirting was a habit.

As annoying as he could be, even in the male's propensity to play the gender card in protecting her, she knew somehow that he really cared. Perhaps that was what bothered her most in how she reacted to him. Anger. Snapping, biting retorts. Frustration. He could be so pig-headed! No one else made her feel this way. Wanting to be near yet avoiding him. Brooding over any conversation they had.

Until… when had her retorts become more like teasing? Argg!! He was so FRUSTRATING! What he made her feel… FRUSTRATING! How he could make her more irritated with each time he spoke to her, causing her to react so caustically in return. She hated it. Hated getting upset that way. Hated not understanding WHY he upset her so.

Yet when they were apart. She missed him. Missed the bad pick up lines and the inflated ego. Missed the security and grace of his skill and strength. Missed the overbearing annoyance of him wanting to protect her and keep her safe. Missed that odd feeling she always had when he was near, ever since the first day they met.

She missed the idiot.

Especially now.

'''''

He paced, not certain what else to do. As usual, SHE was always in his thoughts. The beauty who had the audacity to call him an idiot to his face. There was a great sigh, remembering. She was right. Always right. So wonderfully perfect: fiery, independent, powerful. Yet sweet and tender too, though never to him. Not that he deserved it. She was better than his lines, and yet he had known no other way. Such a tender heart… how she had cried the day they met for those fallen. _'"I hate to see a pretty girl cry__…"__'_

The one he loved was so strong of spirit and at the same time so very vulnerable. Her grace, her beauty, her life had to be protected. She could fall so easily. But he never knew the right thing to say to her. Too smart (so very intelligent!) for his lines… how he bumbled annoyingly into that habit around her! Damn! But it was the only way he knew how to woo her, and he HAD to win her! He just HAD to! No one moved him like she did. No one had the spark, the fire, the…

_'I__'__ve blown it. All I can ever do is upset her, but I can__'__t give up. I__'__ve got to keep trying. I LOVE her'_ Yes. That was it was it not? Love. He was not just trying to bed her like he had other girls in the past. No. No she was so much more than that. So much better. What he wanted… her. Near. Beside him. Forever. Even seeing her across the room would be better than being without her. It would be hard to be satisfied with that when he truly wished to spend his lifetime and beyond with her, but if that was all he could have then he would take it gladly.

Being away from her was maddening.

Especially now.

'''''''''

Sighing softly the female folded one gold flecked paw over the other then lay her head upon them as she glanced with green eyes over the water. The tail end of her body ending in a fan curled around her, the fan flicking idly in the water. She could see it from the corner of her eyes. Green. Like her hair and clothes had been before. That was easier to adjust to than the form she was in. The form easier to bear than the loneliness. It was a different kind of loneliness. There were others around her, all similar and some even just like her, but they were strangers and she missed her friends.

She missed HIM.

_'Now who__'__s an idiot?'_ She chided herself lightly, bringing a soft smile. Idiot. So stupid that thinking the word made her feel a little bit better and not so much alone.

'''''

Across the pool blue-gray eyes widened in disbelief as he snapped his head to the side to get a better look. Green. That green. Even out of the corner of his eyes the ninja could never forget that shade of green. HER shade of green. He leapt into the water, having been quick to adjust to the physical aspects of this form. It should be noted that he left his conversation partner hanging in his haste. His heart pounded harder than for his first training mission as he neared, catching the glimmer of green eyes. Sad green eyes. Oh no! Oh no! Not her! Not her CRYING! He flicked his fin powerfully through the water, surfacing beside her. VERY beside her. "aww now… don't cry. I hate to see a pretty girl cry."

Oh great. Now she was hearing things. Or remembering them. His voice… Too late. Green eyes shot up with unconcealed hope and ache in their bottomless depths. She looked at the furred creature like herself before her. Larger than she was, and male. Wet… the fur was filled with his colors. Blues, grays… that shade of silvery white hair…

Her eyes sought and found his and he felt his heart skip a beat. She was… could she be actually GLAD to see him? She was not trusting yet and still looking so sad. Then there was a glimmer in her eyes and they started to light.

_'His eyes. Those are his eyes.'_ No thoughts permitted within her mind of WHY she had memorized and never forgotten how his eyes looked. Those eyes… how they laughed with mischief and teasing, and showed of some inner hurt never fully gone after the death of his parents. Mirrored in her eyes too. "Edge."

Warm. Hopeful. Fear of being wrong or dreaming mixed with the existing fear of being HERE like this. But relief and joy. She was not alone. HE was here. It was all conveyed in her tone and in those lovely green eyes for otherwise the female did not stir, her tail hung limply in the water.

It stunned him; made the ninja prince of Eblan warm inside. The smile for HIM in her eyes… Gods! Was that actually for HIM?"…Rydia." Like a weight form his shoulders while at the same time making him feel guilty all over. Overwhelmed, he acted without thought. In a fluid motion he was within the circle she had made with her body, not yet touching her at all. Flick of his tail and Edge was half out of the water. On the way down he was automatically gentle as he lay his wet head and neck over her shoulders, paws moving to 'hug' her as best this form could. His eyes pressed closed, realizing what he had done …dammit! He had probably messed up again- and certain somehow she would deck him. Bite him. Shove him away at least.

Lucky for Edge, the Caller was much too shocked for retaliation. Too shocked… and having to deal too much with those feelings that had bothered her ever since that day they had found the ninja prince, when the idiot was going to try to fight the evil on his own. The feeling drowned her, mixing with her joy at seeing him, at not being alone…

And really… Rydia NEEDED a hug. With a soft sound of choking back her tears the green eyes closed. Her tail lost its placidity, moving to curl tentatively around the ninja. They were different forms now, but she knew him. Knew him without a doubt. The caller wondered HOW.

While meanwhile it was the ninja's turn to be caught off guard. He was not pushed. Not slapped. Not yelled at. She was… reciprocating? What the…? His own choked sound emanated from his throat. Even though it probably meant she was just missing those she knew, it was the closest HE had ever been to her. Without being slapped. Silver-blue eyes closed and he just HELD her, breathing in deeply her scent. It was not quite how he had dreamed -burying his face in her long green hair- but this was better because it was REAL.

Dear gods he HOPED this was real. His heart would surely break with waking.

Afraid to ruin this moment Edge said not one word. Like when he looked away at Cecil and Rosa's wedding -better to say nothing than make things worse. His silence threw off the Caller however. It made her wonder if she was dreaming. The smart-mouthed ninja silent? "What? No quipy line for me?"

If his eyes were open, Edge would have blinked. After a moment or two he chuckled at the back of his throat. "About a million, babe." Daring, he lightly nuzzled her neck with the underside of his as a strange sound vibrated within him. Dammitdammitdammit! What to say? What to DO? He wanted to continue holding her in his arms -well… forelegs- to somehow kiss her, but he was SURE that would be pushing this far too far. _'Be lucky with what you have, idiot.'_ "You actually asking for one? That'd be a first." Alluding to how she usually was trying to get him to shut up.

The female smiled lightly. Good… his voice WAS still the same. The confidence and ego still underlined it even when she could feel through their contact that both were more habit then really there at the moment. Good… then he was new to this too. Their bodies -eh- their new forms. Making a soft sound of contentment Rydia shifted enough to return the nuzzle -making the male jolt in surprise. Was it something about being in these forms instead of human that made it easier for closeness?

"mmm… Maybe I just wanted to hear your voice." Rydia confessed in a playful tone. Green eyes danced over the lingering sadness as silver-blue snapped to look eye-to-eye at her in bewilderment. The ninja king could hardly dare to dream that she _meant_ it… but nothing he thought could stop the hope from swelling in his chest or the accompanying accelerated heartbeat. It went into overdrive at her next words. "Talk more?"

Her words were soft, almost young-sounding, and with a hint of pleading. Slowly a smile resembling his usually cocky expression slid over his face though wariness hid behind his eyes. "Far be it for me to deny you, babe." Internally Edge winced at his endearment choice, suspecting it was one of the things that pissed off the spitfire Caller but it was too late to retract it now. He was falling into his habit to force himself to have something to say when he was content with the silence of just _being _with her and he did not know what _else_ to say anyway. All he could do was pray to the gods that in following what seemed to be her wish of him he did not scare her off. Again. So he could not see the anger when it flared -and to feel her close for just a little bit longer- Edge rested his head beside hers and murmured in her soft, fuzzy canine ear. "Shall I whisper sweet nothings?"

She shivered at the feel of his breath in combination of his words. Her reaction had Edge pulling back, self-loathing and pain filling those jewel-like eyes and clouding them. Something ached within Rydia's chest and without thinking except perhaps of the terror of losing him she responded. Her lazy curl around him tightened, holding the male to her closely. She felt him jerk once then stop, and it was as if she could feel the confusion in his fit frame where it touched her own body. Fur pressed tightly against fur and Rydia shivered again at the sensation, this time holding the ninja close and letting her eyelids fall to half-mast with a shaky sigh. "Only if you mean them, Ninja King. Only if you mean them. But keep talking."

Blink. What?!? Stunned, Edge was silent some moments more as he breathed in the now furry Caller's canine scent. "Only if I mean them…?" His usually sure voice was a whisper –softly seductive with a rasp yet tight and warm with feelings. Even nervousness. "How your inner fire consumes me…? The green shades of your hair and eyes enthrall and haunt me… even when you're far away… blowing in the wind like visions in the mist… tormenting me that I could never run my fingers through the waves of your hair as I dreamed or gaze deep into your emerald eyes to find myself for I was already lost in you…"

Though he spoke as if questioning there was an entreaty there Rydia could not deny. It was like he was looking for her favor that what he said was what she wanted to hear… as if he was afraid… The masts over her green eyes lifted, those eyes widening. _'I asked him to tell me things only if he meant them… and he's afraid… afraid of how I'll react? Then… then this is the __truth__?!? If there's one thing: Edge has never LIED to me before. He might have been annoying and chauvinistic but he was never untruthful around me. So… he really __is__ afraid how I'll react to his truth…'_ Rydia's thoughts stalled as if hitting a brick wall as realization swept in. _'He really __does__ think and feel those things about me…'_ Overwhelmed and flooded with emotions she did not understand Rydia shivered and snuggled closer to the larger male, breathing in the scent from his gray-blue fur and letting her lidded gaze trace over the more vibrant white marking that patterned his back. "Keep going." She murmured into his fur, seeing how her breath shifted the colored strands. Why oh why could she not have seen any of this when they were _human_ and with _friends_? "Your voice is so nice like this…" Better admitting that than confessing how she did not want to leave his side –to move from his touch. "Don't stop, Edge. Please."

Was there a slight huskiness to her soft voice? Edge could barely think enough to ponder the possibility or any implication as he himself shivered beneath the warmth of her breath upon him. It was like heaven and torture all at once… and he never wanted to lose the feeling. Never wanted to lose the joy even as it was right now tipped with fear. "Would you like to hear how painfully wonderful an ache it has always been to watch you? How some of my fondest memories are of watching you dance on your winds? Or perhaps…" The brave ninja king gulped anxiously causing the ball in his throat to bob forcefully. "… how being away from you opened my eyes –showed me how I can never go back to what I was, could never think of being with another for you had invaded my entire being." He felt her shiver and internally winced, afraid he had gone too far. It was the truth! Edge almost whimpered in anguish –lost in that moment of expected reproof on any way he could salvage the situation and not even able to come up with a way he could have done this better. So caught in his expected outcome Edge startled at the snuggling warmth that pressed gently but firmly around the curve of his body and the sweet nuzzle of a muzzle burrowing beneath his chin. All thought left him and in the silence he could hear the rumbling purring of the warm body wrapped with his. _'Rydia!'_

"Edge…?" Her voice was so soft and tender he nearly felt he could weep at the sound. Swallowing again he nodded into her soft fur, still stunned she had not pushed him aside much less was refraining him from his attempts at self-imposed punishment to get away from her. "What does it mean? What you're saying… what does it mean?"

It was so like a child, the way she spoke those questions. Edge was stunned within his already stunned state. It was like she did not understand… at… all… Suddenly Edge wanted to slap himself in the head, and it was only that he and Rydia held themselves entwined with their coiled bodies along with the blaring fact that he had no _hands_ that he did not. How could he have missed it? Overhearing Cecil explaining to Kain where Rydia had been –learning how she had been but a child when they met her but that in the course of a few months when she was lost she had returned a young woman, complete with having learned the magic of her trade as a Caller. How she had spent the equivalent of _ten years_ with the summoned creatures in their world. _'I think I understand it somewhat now: she has no understanding of human courtship. Of human feelings. Only that of which a child might know and understand. No wonder she is so pure! No wonder then she only became angered at my words! What a fool I've been! Another woman might have picked up on the feelings I didn't understand myself and later hid… but Rydia… Rydia would not. __Could__ not. But… but what should I tell her?'_ In that instant he decided to gamble. To put all his cards on the table and pray to the gods these words at least she understood. "It means…" Edge started, having to clear his throat to go on with the words –his heart in them. "It means I love you, Rydia."

She gasped, the air pulling into her lungs sharply and filling her tensing body with the breath of his scent in its wake. He _loved_ her. It was not a concept she had ever considered or even gave a passing thought. Oh… she knew what love was. How could anyone travel with Cecil and Rosa and _not_ know? But… that Edge loved her…

At once Rydia was wondering about her own feelings for the ninja king. The tenseness somewhat left her as she curled tighter to his damp warmth –almost painful with her intensity. She felt his wince, his quick intake of breath stirring her fur –followed by a reciprocating embrace that if she could put a word to describe it was almost _desperate_. "I don't know what I feel for you…" Water dripped onto her neck, sliding between heat-retaining fur to moisten the skin beneath. Rydia did not understand but obeyed her urge to snuggle closer. "You always frustrate me so. I hate how I get angered from your words, how you can rattle me so and make me lose my composure." It felt like he was moving away. With a strangled whimper Rydia tightened against him and Edge seemed to calm but the wetness upon her neck dripped once more. "Yet… I miss you so much when we're apart. More than the others. So much I don't understand it." He was tensing differently now, and Rydia did not understand this either even as he nearly took the breath from her when wordlessly squeezing her in return. Was he worried she would disappear as she was terrified he would? "And I remember… when we met… the strength of how I was afraid you would be killed too; that your name would join the list of those lost…" His embrace turned comforting then, Edge taking advantage of their canine bodies to do what he could to soothe her. It was working and she sighed as she calmed into his hold. "Everything I feel where you're involved is so _intense_. So consuming I can hardly _think_. Why is that, Edge? Why is that?"

"I don't know." He choked into her fur, nuzzling the back of her neck in hope and disbelief. What Rydia described… was so very like what he felt as well. Could it be… could she love him as well? Dare he hope? Dare he dream? "I can't tell you what it means to you, Rydia." Edge could feel her shock as he again called her by her name instead of 'babe' as usual. Was it his imagination or did a thrill-like shudder course through her? "I can only guess and hope…"

There was comfortable if slightly awkward silence as she snuggled even more thoroughly with him. If he was not a ninja (and so utterly comfortable) Edge would have jumped when her soft voice broke the silence around them. "Do you think… maybe I love you too?"

He could seriously cry at that and wrapped around her smaller form lovingly. If there had been any doubt he felt differently and more strongly for Rydia than any woman he had ever flirted with in his full life there was now not even a trace. The emotions that flared within him at simply hearing those words from her lips though posed as a question were like a wildfire of reckless hope through his essence. "Gods, Rydia… I can _hope_…!"

Then he could not speak and buried his canine nose within her wonderful smelling fur, inhaling the forever magical potent scent that was infinitesimally _her_. If there was another thing he could be grateful to these new forms for it was that the sense of smell was _fantastic_. On some level he feared her reaction to his emotional display but for once the ninja did not give himself time to even hold himself back. He felt her slightly stiffen and choked back a sob into her fur, nearly releasing another as she relaxed and reciprocated once more.

His actions were confusing her. Where was the strong, somewhat aloof ninja king of whom she was accustomed? This was more like… when he was crying over his parents. Shocked, the revelations worked slowly through her. Did he… did he feel as strongly for her as he did for his parents? It had been the one display of emotion from him she could guarantee was true. There was no need to _fake_ such anguish, and truthfully they all would have understood the need for royalty to show a strong front even in such a time of loss. But Edge had not –clearly showing his grief for his parents. _'And I… do I feel as strongly for Edge as I did for my mother?'_ All at once the thought of loosing him as she had her mother had Rydia quaking. Soon she was pushing herself into him as tears streaked through the fur around her muzzle, wetting them both. The _thought_ of losing Edge, of being apart from him, was almost worse than the _real_ memory of losing her mother. "Edge…!" She struggled to speak, not quite sobbing into his fur while trying to get as close to his masculine warmth as possible. After thoughts like she was having she needed as much proof as possible he was here. "I don't want to lose you! I don't want to be without you!"

Her words along with the strength she put to them floored the ninja. Forelegs gripped the trembling female closer, never intending to let her go. "You never will. As long as you'll let me near, I'll never leave you. Even if it has to be across the room… I can't bear to be without your presence again."

"Don't leave my side." Her head snapped up, piercing his eyes with her wet green gaze as she spoke. Edge breathed in sharply. Gods… how often was this woman -female- going to stun him stupid in such a short frame of time, even if it felt like forever with time stopped? Slowly he smiled in relief and joy, the haunted look that had touched his eyes unknowing to him slipping from their depths as if washed away in Rydia's still flowing tears.

"Whatever you wish. I've no desire to move."

"Only closer, I hope." She giggled and smiled as she watched his gray-blue eyes blink in surprise then smile even though he looked like he had been struck by a spell. He shook his fit form beside her before holding her close once more, and Rydia giggled again as she snuggled into his furry body. He felt so warm… so… _right_.

"As close as you wish."

He was being careful, loving, and Rydia appreciated his deferring to her desires. But there was something she remembered from the brief flashes of her youngest memories when her father had still been alive, as well as newer memories closer to Cecil and Rosa's wedding. Somehow though… she could not give her new thoughts away without a little fun teasing. Rydia drew her tongue through the soft fur at the side of his muzzle, keeping her eyes half lidded as she watched the happy-surprise in those beautiful blue-gray eyes of his. "Close enough for children, ninja-king. I'd see your line continued."

Rydia giggled and snuggled closer after watching his eyes widen before the irises rolled back in his head. Well… he would certainly have something to think about. When he could. Which might be a while yet. _She_ certainly had no intention of disturbing him. Though she would be teasing him about his reaction later.

The fearless ninja-king of Eblan had fainted –a look of shock and happiness spread across his furry muzzle. Even in unconsciousness his body held to the female who forever held his heart and soul within her dainty, magical grasp. It might take time but he would learn… he held hers in return.

_**

* * *

Author's Note:**__ I can't believe continuing this led to nearly doubling the original. O_O I __am__ pretty happy with it though. :beams:_

_For those of you waiting for updates to __Healing Soul__, don't worry –they're coming. And this did not really take much writing time away from it. Especially as the first half of this was written __**years**__ ago! :laughs: About time I finished it up! _

_This is a finished one-shot. Nothing is ever intended considering its continuation. I might edit errors or gaps noticed later, however. ^_^ Thanks for reading! _


End file.
